McNabb ready to welcome newcomers

Donovan McNabb, noting what the Eagles did in the offseason, said on his blog that he is ready to "focus on the future," especially after seeing the city's response to the Philadelphia Phillies' World Series victory.

McNabb, who had been pushing to improve the Eagles' offensive arsenal, said on Tuesday's blog entry on Yardbarker.com: "I want to congratulate all the newcomers and let them know that I am excited to be working with them and taking the first step towards moving forward and getting something accomplished.

"I was inspired by the way the Phillies won the World Series and how they were treated by the City and their fans and I want to experience that myself in the worst way," McNabb added.

A source told ESPN in late February that McNabb and Eagles management held a meeting to discuss, among other subjects, a possible contract extension. The source added, however, that McNabb might choose to table talks unless he sees some upgrade with offseason trades and free-agency moves.

Well, here's what the Eagles have done. They signed free-agent right tackle Stacy Andrews from
Cincinnati and acquired Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters in a trade from Buffalo, moves that McNabb said "will help in both the passing and running game."

"As for the additions on defense ... I can't wait to see how [defensive coordinator] Jim Johnson uses all the talent he has at his disposal," McNabb wrote.

During last weekend's draft,
Philadelphia took two offensive stars, selecting Missouri receiver Jeremy Maclin with the 19th overall choice and
Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy in the second round with the 53rd overall pick.

On Day 2, the Eagles picked up Ellis Hobbs, a veteran cornerback from the New England Patriots, in exchange for two fifth-round draft picks.

The Eagles used three other fifth-round picks by selecting Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram, 6-feet-3½, 241 pounds, who missed his senior year with a torn ACL; Virginia Tech cornerback Victor Harris, 5-9, 195, who could move to safety; and Oregon left tackle Fenuki Tupou, 6-5½, 316.

In the sixth round, they added Washington State wide receiver Brandon Gibson, who caught 57 passes for 673 yards last fall. In the seventh, they took Arizona State offensive lineman Paul Fanaika
and Maryland linebacker Moise Fokou.

"As with every minicamp since I've been in the league, I'm excited about meeting my new teammates, getting to know them and working together on the field. We now have a lot of new, young skill position players and it will be exciting and interesting to see how they become acclimated to what we do here," McNabb wrote. "If they can come in here and take their game to the next level, they will be productive pros and we can achieve great successes together."

Information from ESPN reporter Michael Smith and The Associated Press was used in this report.

In an April 28 story on ESPN.com, a series of quotes attributed to Donovan McNabb should have been attributed to his blog on Yardbarker.com.